By Danlami Nmodu
Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, media aide to immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has denounced speculations over the recent visit of the former governor to Malam Shehu Musa Gabam, national chairman, Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Adekeye while reacting to speculations that his boss may have crossed over to SDP wondered why Gabam who was among those that visited him for Iftar (Muslim breaking of fast) had not been accused of crossing over to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
El-Rufai’s aide who made the clarifications through his X(former Twitter) handle, reiterated that the former governor remains a “senior member” and “significant contributor” to the APC, just as he described the speculations as the product of “an unhealthy obsession with politics”.
Adekeye said, “I consider the most recent speculations about Malam Nasir @elrufai as reflecting an unhealthy obsession with politics.
“People have personal histories and relationships that predate political affiliations. It cannot be a hallmark of civilisation to have friends from within only your political party. When people visit each other or mingle across party lines, it is because human relationships exist, distinct from the political or the partisan.
According to Adekeye, “Malam Nasir @elrufai is a senior member of the APC, one of the signatories to its merger documents, and a significant contributor to the party’s demonstrated viability. These contributions do not require that he treats friends as anathema on account of politics or maintains an antiseptic distance from them.”
Giving an insight into what really transpired, Adekeye said, “Malam Nasir @elrufai hosted some friends to Iftar on Tuesday, 19 March 2024. NSA Nuhu Ribadu was at the Iftar with a senior APC figure like Alh. Kashim Imam. SDP National Chairman Shehu Musa Gabam was among the friends who partook in the Iftar. Gabam was not accused of considering crossing over to the APC on account of that.
He added, “When Malam Nasir @elrufai visited Gabam the next day, he was merely returning a visit to a friend who happens to be SDP chairman.
“Malam El-Rufai is known for being open and forthright. If he had any political decisions to make, it would not be in character to let them be subject to speculation.
Adekeye further noted, “Unfounded speculations about Malam Nasir @elrufai have become an industry that has delivered tons of lies and clickbaits in the last 18 years. This is unlikely to abate anytime soon, given the persistent obsession of its purveyors who relish in negativity and their tireless indulgence in conflating assumption with fact.
“A recent instance was when he visited former presidents late in 2023 to explain his Nigerian governance study book project covering each of their tenures, the speculators said it was about politics! That is why it is sometimes necessary to clarify matters lest the unwary be taken in”, the tweet concludes.
Newsdiaryonline recalls that el-Rufai played a prominent role during the campaign for the election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria’s president.
In fact, Tinubu nominated him for ministerial appointment but the Senate in a strange twist of fate failed to clear El-Rufai, who also later withdrew his interest in the cabinet bid.
It may therefore not be surprising that political observers are keeping a close watch over El-Rufai’s moves afterwards.
